PETER RABBIT
This is an original Chandos by Warne version of the famous bunny, Peter Rabbit made around 1939. There are just over 100 pieces of wood and, truthfully, few children could manage this without help! The puzzle is contained inside its original box, the lid of which is lacking its edges. PRICE: £60.00
BEAUTIFUL MINT SET NISTER DUTTON
This set of six Nister/Dutton puzzles - The Puzzle Box of Kittens - must be as near mint as any you could find! The pictures are from superb paintings by W. Luker Jnr. and the set was probably produced in the early part of the twentieth century. The price at the time was a massive 2/6! The box is half again as big as the usual Nister puzzle boxes (which were only 1/6). The box is good with very little rubbing and minimal staining and the lower part has a 'let-down' edge so the puzzles can be removed easily. Each puzzle has its guide picture also in great condition. (There are five separate pictures and the one on the lid).
PRICE: £75.00
19th CENTURY CHILDREN'S JIGSAW
This is a really nice little jigsaw with a great picture of children and animals. The edge pieces are all interlocking with the inner pieces cut quite simply (which makes it rather more difficult than you'd think!). The picture is backed by solid wood which is itself backed by paper to stop it from warping. Several of the interlocking lobes are broken but present but one lobe is missing. It comes without a box, made-up on a piece of card and enclosed in a clear fronted acid-free bag. PRICE:£20.00
C.1840 puzzle of THE KINGS OF ENGLAND FROM WILLIAM I TO VICTORIA
This is a puzzle which appears in various museum collections (including the V&A, according to Linda Hannas). It is by Nicholas Carpenter and consists of hand-coloured woodcut portraits of the kings, queens and protectors(!)from 1066 to 1840. The original box is missing, though the sliding lid is present with its original illustration of the first and last lines of the puzzle. Originally with this puzzle was a printed sheet with rhymes about each ruler but that's missing. There are about 12 small bits missing - one of the pieces has been ravaged by a dog - but all the main pieces are present. The pieces are all backed by Nicolas Carpenter's signature bright green paper. I've put the lot into an old cardboard "butter" box dated 1896 (a mere youngster compared to the puzzle!) PRICE:£55.00
ZOO PUZZLE - German-made, c. 1880-1900
This is a set of twelve nine-piece animal picture puzzles each made with a pine-like wood, paper-backed and a chromolithograph picture. This was obviously a quality set for a Victorian child who looked after it well. There are a few 'knobs' broken and some missing but it is altogether a wonderful set. They come in a large box - not the original - but with the original box lid (see photo).
PRICE: REDUCED TO £45.00 (31.3.12)
VICTORY WILD ANIMAL SPELLING PUZZLE
This is a children's puzzle which helps to spell the names of ten wild animals. The words are broken up into small chunks to help a child sound out the words (Ti-g -er etc.) The puzzle is in excellent condition though the box has seen better days. PRICE: £8.00
and also a Victory Domestic Animal Spelling Puzzle, similar to the one above and in an even more-tired box. £8.00
THE JACK-IN-THE-BOX PUZZLE BY VICTORY
This is a toy for a 2 to 3 year old, probably. There are only a few pieces but the puzzle is a nice, colourful one to do. I would guess that this puzzle was produced in the 1950's. It is lacking its original box but stays together very well and there are no broken bits. PRICE: £8.00
30 PIECE PUZZLE BY L.G.CO.
I had just decided that this was a young knight leading some soldiers when I changed my mind and thought it might be Joan of Arc. It doesn't really matter, though. It's a nice puzzle made of 5 plywood and contained in its original box. The puzzle is in very good condition, the box in reasonable condition - though there is an 'old' smell about it. PRICE: £5.00
A SWEET LITTLE 12 PIECE PUZZLE
It has everything - a little girl wearing a sunbonnet, an old English sheepdog, a horse, chickens, cows, flowers and stable! This little child's puzzle in 5 plywood is complete and in good condition. It is in a plastic bag and lying on a piece of corrugated cardboard. PRICE: £3.00
TALKS ABOUT BIBLE ANIMALS
Without the booklet and the title, you would think that these two double-sided jigsaws were just animal puzzles. The booklet and puzzles were published by the Paternoster Printing & Publishing Co. probably around the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century. The puzzles are wooden and vaguely interlocking around the edges while being push-fit in the inner part. The puzzles come in their original box which is squashed, missing bits of edge etc. and the booklet has started to come away from its staple but the puzzles are complete and in good condition. PRICE: £10.00
VICTORY “PICTURE BOOK” BOX OF PUZZLES X 2
I have two sets of puzzles each from the 1930’s, I believe, but they could be a bit later as the price doesn’t tally with the known details from early catalogues.
The red box is complete with its booklet entitled, “Little Miss Sunshine” and six little eight piece jigsaws illustrating the story. Though the box has seen better days and the book is scuffed, everything is there and in good condition. PRICE: £15.00
The blue box is also complete, this time with its booklet entitled, “WINDMILL LAND” and six little eight piece jigsaws illustrating the story. The box is even more tired than the one above and the booklet has been taped in various places but the little jigsaws are in good condition. PRICE: £12.00
LATE 19TH CENTURY /EARLY 20TH PEACOCK MAP
This is a world map cut by Peacock but printed originally by W&AK Johnston Ltd of Edinburgh and London. The puzzle comes in its original box with sliding lid which is in excellent condition and a copy of the map. I was able to date it to the turn of the 20th century by the countries on the map;for instance the Russian Empire (obviously before 1917 and Ireland is all coloured red. The fact that it is in a wooden box makes it early as well. Though the puzzle is complete, there are stains on several of the pieces most likely caused by the colour of the wood coming through the paper via the glue. PRICE: £40.00
COWBOYS AND INDIANS
This puzzle was made in the days when the only movies on t.v. were either Our Gang or cowboys and Indians (I am remembering my youth in the US). It's a small puzzle which can be made up in its box which is in reasonable condition. The puzzle itself is in great condition. It's a good 'second' puzzle for children who have a little knowledge of jigsaws and how to put them together. PRICE: £6.00
IAN ALLAN 'BOURNEMOUTH BELLE'
This is a small (72 piece) jigsaw by Ponda picturing the Bournemouth Belle leaving Waterloo station - presumably on its way to Bournemouth. It is complete but for one lobe and in its original box. PRICE: £8.00 SOLD
FUZZY THE FIREMAN
This would be considered non-pc today but yesterday's children would have liked this little puzzle. The picture is by Fred Robinson and there are the full complement of 24 pieces all contained in the original High Spot Puzzle box. PRICE: £8.00 SOLD
VICTORIAN / EDWARDIAN BLOCK PUZZLE
What a gorgeous set of blocks! Showing is a picture of children waving good-bye - or hello - to a ferry. Others include children at a train station, skating on a frozen pond, riding on ponies, roller skating and building sand-castles. The blocks are in very, very good condition and the box is good, as well. There is a guide picture on the lid and five separate sheets with the others; these sheets are in rather poor condition, unfortunately. PRICE: £60.00
THE FLYING SCOTSMAN WITH MALLARD
This is probably not a children's puzzle as it is quite difficult but it is only 150 pieces so I'm putting it here! This puzzle comes in a small brown box which has a torn label. There is a bit missing then it says "A4 Class Pacific No. 4468 Mallard approx 8" x 8"." It is complete and in good condition. The artist is BALDWIN. PRICE: £20.00 reserved for MR
ANOTHER TRAIN BY BALDWIN
This is a green engined-train painted by the same man and cut in the same way. Again, there are about 150 pieces of thick ply and the puzzle is complete and in good condition. This one comes in an old box which used to contain a Nymph Toilet Roll Holder so you not only get a good puzzle but a vintage box! PRICE: £20.00 reserved for MR
SET OF FOUR CHILDREN'S STAR PUZZLES
This is a set of four children's jigsaws, described on the hosiery box in which I found them as "Star" jigsaws - and you can see why! I believe the set is from the early part of the 20th century but they could be a bit older. They are made of a heavy card and all are complete but one (the bears) has a bit torn away.The hosiery box is pure art deco and on the back is the price of "4/11 and 1 coupon per box of 4". For the four PRICE: £20.00
GORGEOUS BUBBLE PICTURE
This heavy card, made in Germany in the first part of the 20th century, is just gorgeous! There are fifteen pieces making the picture, all in great condition and they are in their original box which has collapsed. PRICE: £10.00
DISSECTING PUZZLES - SET
This is an interestingly different set from the usual. Inside the box are six heavy card jigsaws, most of the pieces of which are backed by different colours and mostly with their own section. There are four guide pictures (plus the one on the lid) and there is a small red covered booklet which may - or may not - have come with the original set. It appears to have hand-written story outlines inside ( The first one is: 'Tommy Merton gathering flowers with his nurse, a snake coiled itself round T's leg, nurse ran away shrieking. T. too frightened to stir, Harry Sandford ran up, seized snake by neck, tore it off and threw it away -') These stories don't appear to have anything to do with the puzzles!
Two of the little puzzles are each missing one but the others are complete and all are interesting! If you want photos of the puzzles, let me know. PRICE: £18.00
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